LUCERNE, Calif. – An early Friday morning vehicle crash damaged utility poles, knocked down power lines on the grounds of the Lucerne Elementary School and resulted in minor injuries to the driver.
The solo-vehicle crash occurred just after 2:30 a.m. Friday on Country Club Drive in front of Lucerne Elementary, according to the California Highway Patrol and radio reports.
What appeared to be a brown Dodge pickup hit the school's chain-link fence and a utility transformer box on Country Club Drive, between 17th Avenue and Ogden Road.
Officials said the pickup also may have hit a building. At the scene, it was difficult to tell if one of the school's portables had been hit due to the mangled fence.
The truck appeared to be totaled, with damage extending along nearly the entire length of the passenger side.
The crash knocked down two power poles and damaged a third, took out the transformer box and dropped power lines, radio reports indicated. There also were concerns that the chain-link fence around the school had been energized due to the downed lines.
The Northshore Fire battalion chief at the scene reported that lines were down and actively arcing on the school grounds, with arcing lines also reported on top of a portable classroom.
The driver was reported to be out the vehicle and walking around, based on radio reports.
Officials at the scene reported that the driver later was transported by CHP to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for medical clearance before being taken to the Lake County Jail.
Pacific Gas and Electric was said to have arrived on scene shortly before 3:45 a.m., based on radio reports. A school representative also was asked to respond.
PG&E's online outage center indicated there was a power outage – affecting only one customer – that was expected to be resolved at around 7 a.m. Friday.
Firefighters had to respond to a nearby home shortly before 4:30 a.m. to help a woman with her oxygen tank because of the power outage.
A county roads crew was on scene to shut down a portion of Country Club Drive at about 4:30 a.m., with firefighters clearing the scene shortly afterward.
Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
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